BANGKOK – Thailand’s military courts have issued the harshest sentences in recent decades for two people convicted of insulting the monarchy on Facebook. A man in Bangkok was sentenced to prison for 30 years, and a mother of two young girls was sentenced in northern Thailand for 28 years. The …

BUCHAREST, Romania – Romanian authorities have mobilized more than 1,000 rescuers in a massive search operation for a missing pilot and his glider now in its fifth day. Mircea Craciun, one of Romania’s most experienced gliders, went missing on Thursday after taking off on a private flight from the town …

SKOPJE, Macedonia – The playful baboon Luka has been rescued and returned to Macedonia’s largest zoo after he was snatched by captors. Police say the 18-month-old crowd favorite was abducted Monday from Skopje Zoo by captors who cut nets at a zoo enclosure and drove him by taxi to Kavadarci, …

BETHLEHEM, Pa. – One lucky groundhog might live to see another Groundhog Day thanks to authorities in eastern Pennsylvania. The creature roaming Lehigh University wasn’t able to see its own shadow — or much of anything — because its head was stuck in a tin can. Campus police were alerted …

A family bakery owned by a Christian cannot refuse to make wedding cakes for homosexual couples, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled Thursday. The court affirmed the Colorado Civil Rights Commission’s order that Jack Phillips, the owner of the Masterpiece Cakeshop, violated the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act when he refused to …

SAVANNAH, Ga. – Tour guides suing the city of Savannah say the local government is trying to control what they tell visitors by requiring guides to pass a written test based on a textbook produced by City Hall. Tour guides filed a federal lawsuit last November saying Savannah violates their …

On Tuesday afternoon I told you that court officials in Tennessee had replaced the words “Mother” and “Father” on court documents with the gender-neutral terms “Parent 1” and “Parent 2”. A few hours after my column was published the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) announced they were reversing …

CHICAGO – A full appellate court in Chicago will not rehear the appeal of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s corruption convictions. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals posted a notice Wednesday indicating there would be no rehearing for the imprisoned Democrat. Blagojevich had hoped the full court might overturn …

TOKYO – Japan’s finance minister, Taro Aso, says recent moves by China to allow its currency to depreciate are a concern and could pose problems for Tokyo. The Nikkei newspaper and other local media quoted Aso as saying that China is a big factor behind the recent decline in share …

ISLAMABAD – The Pakistani army says rockets fired by militants from across the Afghan border have hit a military post, killing four soldiers and wounding four others. An army statement says troops at the post in Akhandwala Pass in the Khyber tribal region killed the militants behind the attack Sunday. …